1. Technical Field
This invention is related to the field of internal combustion (IC) engine ignition diagnosis systems. More particularly, it is related to the field of detecting an ionization signal in the combustion chamber of an IC engine using the ionization signal to monitor ignition parameters and diagnose engine performance.
2. Discussion
The prior art includes a variety of conventional methods for detecting and using ionization current in a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. However, each of the various conventional systems suffer from a great variety of deficiencies. For example, prior art ionization current detection circuits are generally too slow and generate a current signal with low signal-to-noise ratio.
It is desirable to minimize the pin count of an integrated package for reduced cost.